Sappers have been put through their paces on Exercise Bardia, the culminating activity for trainees at the School of Military Engineering at Holsworthy.
Lieutenant Stephen Smith, 2 Troop Commander and a course leader for the initial employment training continuum at the School of Military Engineering, said his troop tested all the skills they had learned over the past month at initial employment training on the combat engineer course.
"The hard work put into these individuals is paying off, and paying dividends," he said.
Watermanship, bridging, demolitions and explosives hazard reduction were just some of the skills taught.
A group of trainees from Sydney University Regiment, which delivers initial employment training for part-time general service officers, also took part in the exercise.
Corporal Kieran Warnock is an instructor from the Combat Engineer Wing of the School of Military Engineering, instructing trainees on offensive operations, infantry minor tactics and complex combat engineer tasks.
"It's good to see people with very little training be confident soldiers by the time the course finishes," Corporal Warnock said.
"I enjoy mentoring young soldiers and shaping them to become the best soldiers they can be."
Battle lab lessons incorporated in Exercise Bardia provided greater engagement from trainees and the most relevant skills for their future postings.
"Our training is based on modern conflicts that are seen all over the world; anything from complex IEDs, to basic field defences and utilising trench systems," Corporal Warnock said.
The troop operated as dismounted, dispersed sections and occupied dug-in positions each night, resulting in rapid improvement in individual field craft and entrenchment skills.
In the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear threat scenario, participants gained confidence in operating additional safety equipment, including running decontamination stations and casualty scenarios.
Private Marcus Coratza said he was more confident in his ability to deal with dangerous devices and areas.
"Watermanship was very exciting. We learned different manoeuvres with the Zodiacs," he said.
The course was also a test of resilience, with the team of trainees needing to pull together. "Everyone had to rely on each other for a morale boost," he said.
